What is the hadd (fixed punishment) for the married adulterer, and is it permissible to combine stoning and flogging?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.
The Shaykh : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : I have some questions, and I would like you to answer them.
The Shaykh : Pick one of them.
The questioner : Just one?
The Shaykh : Only.
The questioner : Fine, in order, if Allah wills. I will wait for my turn again another time.
The Shaykh : No, look at the most important one, look at the most important one.
The questioner : Yes, what is the hadd (fixed punishment) for the married adulterer?
The Shaykh : The hadd (fixed punishment) for the married adulterer, may Allah reward you, is stoning. He is to be brought before the people and stoned with stones, neither large nor small, until he dies.
The questioner : But how is the hadith of 'Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Muslim answered, in which he said:?
The Shaykh : Yes, that is answered by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoned five people and did not flog them. So it appears that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) lightened the burden for His servants. Because the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, which appears from its context to be the first thing that came in the Sunnah regarding stoning, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 3558.
But after that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoned [people] and did not combine flogging and stoning. So this is an abrogation, meaning that Allah the Exalted abrogated the combination of stoning and flogging.
The questioner : If it is argued that this was an action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then it was not mentioned that he flogged or did not flog, and it is claimed that flogging is a known thing, but stoning was clarified because it is the final ruling regarding stoning?
The Shaykh : There is no god but Allah. This is one of the most invalid claims. In the hadith of the story of the woman of the 'Asif, he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2314, 2315 Did he say: "Flog her"?
He did not say "Flog her."
And likewise in the story of Ma'iz, he said: and did not say: "Flog him."
And likewise in the story of the two Jewish dhimmis. And if we were to concede this and say it was an action, the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) left off the flogging indicates that leaving it off is permissible and that it is not obligatory. I mean, if we were to concede that this was an action and this was a statement, we would say: this indicates that leaving off the stoning is permissible and that it is not obligatory. Do you understand?
The questioner : Yes, and the action of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?
The Shaykh : The action of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was an exercise of his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). He said: "I flogged her by the Book of Allah and stoned her by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah". This was an exercise of his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) cannot be used to contradict the Sunnah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, but let it be in your minds that establishing zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) by testimony is difficult. Zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) is not established except by confession. It is very difficult for someone to testify that he saw the penis of the adulterer in the vagina of the woman. We used to say at first that a picture could be captured, and that if a picture came, whether a television picture or a paper picture, it could be acted upon. But it became clear to us that even a picture cannot be acted upon because it can be dubbed.
Yes, and you know what they did when the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) of Kuwait with the Iraqis happened?
They dubbed Americans onto the roof of al-Masjid al-Haram and onto the doors of al-Masjid al-Haram, and this is easy. Now, when science has advanced in these matters, everything has become possible. So we used to say at first: if a picture is found with a person showing that this man is committing zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) with a woman, this is one of the strongest pieces of evidence. But it has become clear now that there is doubt in the matter. Yes?
The Shaykh : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : I have some questions, and I would like you to answer them.
The Shaykh : Pick one of them.
The questioner : Just one?
The Shaykh : Only.
The questioner : Fine, in order, if Allah wills. I will wait for my turn again another time.
The Shaykh : No, look at the most important one, look at the most important one.
The questioner : Yes, what is the hadd (fixed punishment) for the married adulterer?
The Shaykh : The hadd (fixed punishment) for the married adulterer, may Allah reward you, is stoning. He is to be brought before the people and stoned with stones, neither large nor small, until he dies.
The questioner : But how is the hadith of 'Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Muslim answered, in which he said:
Flogging of one hundred and stoning
جلد مائة والرجمThe Shaykh : Yes, that is answered by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoned five people and did not flog them. So it appears that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) lightened the burden for His servants. Because the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, which appears from its context to be the first thing that came in the Sunnah regarding stoning, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
Receive my teaching, receive my teaching God has appointed a way for those women (Cf. Al-Qur'an, 4:15). When the parties are unmarried they shall receive a hundred lashes and be banished for a year when they commit fornication and when they have been married they shall receive a hundred lashes and be stoned to death.
خذوا عني خذوا عني فقد جعل الله لهن سبيلا، البكر بالبكر جلد مائة وتغريب عام، والثيب بالثيب جلد مائة والرجمBut after that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stoned [people] and did not combine flogging and stoning. So this is an abrogation, meaning that Allah the Exalted abrogated the combination of stoning and flogging.
The questioner : If it is argued that this was an action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then it was not mentioned that he flogged or did not flog, and it is claimed that flogging is a known thing, but stoning was clarified because it is the final ruling regarding stoning?
The Shaykh : There is no god but Allah. This is one of the most invalid claims. In the hadith of the story of the woman of the 'Asif, he said:
O Unais! Go to the wife of this (man) and if she confesses (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse), then stone her to death.
اغد يا أنيس إلى امرأة هذا فإن اعترفت فارجمهاHe did not say "Flog her."
And likewise in the story of Ma'iz, he said:
Go, take him and stone him.
اذهبوا به فارجموهAnd likewise in the story of the two Jewish dhimmis. And if we were to concede this and say it was an action, the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) left off the flogging indicates that leaving it off is permissible and that it is not obligatory. I mean, if we were to concede that this was an action and this was a statement, we would say: this indicates that leaving off the stoning is permissible and that it is not obligatory. Do you understand?
The questioner : Yes, and the action of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?
The Shaykh : The action of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was an exercise of his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). He said: "I flogged her by the Book of Allah and stoned her by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah". This was an exercise of his independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) cannot be used to contradict the Sunnah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, but let it be in your minds that establishing zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) by testimony is difficult. Zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) is not established except by confession. It is very difficult for someone to testify that he saw the penis of the adulterer in the vagina of the woman. We used to say at first that a picture could be captured, and that if a picture came, whether a television picture or a paper picture, it could be acted upon. But it became clear to us that even a picture cannot be acted upon because it can be dubbed.
Yes, and you know what they did when the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) of Kuwait with the Iraqis happened?
They dubbed Americans onto the roof of al-Masjid al-Haram and onto the doors of al-Masjid al-Haram, and this is easy. Now, when science has advanced in these matters, everything has become possible. So we used to say at first: if a picture is found with a person showing that this man is committing zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) with a woman, this is one of the strongest pieces of evidence. But it has become clear now that there is doubt in the matter. Yes?